Sora gazed at the cave where Uchiha Obito was trapped beneath the rubble and performed the Summoning Technique.
The summoning produced numerous snakes, all ordinary ones without any Chakra.
Sora directed these snakes to slither through the cracks in the cave wall. He formed another hand seal.
"Visual sharing!"
Sora's eyes transformed into snake eyes, his vision switching to that of the summoned creatures. The snakes wove through the gaps and successfully discovered a hidden tunnel.
Sora guided the snakes to move stealthily through the passage.
Half an hour later, the snakes finally reached the end of the tunnel. Beyond it was a vast, empty chamber.
Through the snakes' vision, Sora spotted the elderly Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito with half his body crushed under rocks. Madara appeared to be treating Obito's injuries.
A small smile formed on Sora's lips.
He watched as Uchiha Madara used the half-body of White Zetsu, infused with Hashirama cells, to replace Obito's crushed side. The procedure progressed slowly but steadily.
Three hours later, half of Uchiha Obito's body had been reconstructed. After Madara wrapped bandages around Obito's body, he took a deep breath, sank back into his seat, closed his eyes, and rested.
Sora deactivated the visual sharing technique and opened his system.
[Witnessed Uchiha Madara healing Uchiha Obito: Rewarded with 500 witness points.]
[Witnessed Uchiha Obito receiving Hashirama cell transplant: Rewarded with 500 witness points.]
The rewards were modest, but as the saying goes, even small gains add up over time. There would be more witness points later.
The next day, Sora, Namikaze Minato, Kakashi, and Nohara Rin gathered together.
The mission had to continue—the Kannabi Bridge needed to be destroyed.
With Sora and Namikaze Minato present, the mission to demolish the Kannabi Bridge went without complications. After destroying the bridge used for transporting supplies and cutting off the enemy's support line, the advancement of the Rock Shinobi was significantly impeded.
The Konoha Shinobi seized this opportunity and pushed the Rock Shinobi back across the border.
Sora and Namikaze Minato returned to Konoha to report their success.
Since Kakashi's team now consisted only of Nohara Rin, Namikaze Minato offered to let Kakashi temporarily join his team. Sora firmly declined.
Sora knew exactly what Namikaze Minato intended to do—instill the Will of Fire in Kakashi, turning him into a puppet with no thoughts of his own, thinking only of Konoha.
With Sora's intervention, Kakashi could no longer believe blindly in the Will of Fire.
Nohara Rin would soon face a tragic fate. Sora didn't want Kakashi to experience such despair again.
Nohara Rin was the person chosen by Uchiha Madara to drive Uchiha Obito into darkness. Now that Obito had been taken by Madara, following the principle that major events must occur, Obito would inevitably descend into darkness.
This meant Nohara Rin was almost certainly going to die.
Because if Nohara Rin wasn't the catalyst for Uchiha Obito's fall into darkness, then Kakashi would have to be. Therefore, Sora could not interfere in this incident.
It didn't matter who killed Nohara Rin. What mattered was that she must die in front of Uchiha Obito. So whether Kakashi was involved or not was irrelevant.
After being rejected by Sora, Namikaze Minato had no reason to force Kakashi to join his team.
Sarutobi Hiruzen assigned two Chūnin to join Namikaze Minato's team instead.
With the threat from Rock Shinobi reduced, Sora and Kakashi were granted a rare three-day break. After that, they would be sent to the Rain Shinobi Village to fight against Rock and Sand Shinobi.
Kakashi followed Sora home.
Uzumaki Kushina was no longer a Jinchūriki, so she had to participate in more demanding missions and wasn't at home.
After Sora prepared and ate dinner with Kakashi, he lay on the bed and continuously monitored Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito through visual sharing.
Three nights later, the severely injured Uchiha Obito finally awakened.
Obito opened his eyes slowly. "Am I... dead?"
When he noticed Uchiha Madara, Obito startled. "Where is this place?"
Madara responded, "The space between the underworld and reality, child of the Uchiha."
Obito looked at Madara's eyes and asked with suspicion, "Your eyes... Are you also from the Uchiha clan, old man?"
Madara's gaze shifted away. "Hmm, that's for you to figure out."
Obito stared at Madara with confusion. Was this person the one who had saved him?
No...
"You said this is the gap between the underworld and the real world. Where exactly is it? It's too dark to see anything clearly," Obito questioned. "Also, old man, who are you? You're not the Shinigami, right? The one who takes people to heaven or hell..."
Suddenly, Obito noticed that what Madara was holding as a cane was actually a scythe. He screamed in terror.
"No! I don't want to die yet! Help! You've got a scythe—you must be a Shinigami! The one in charge of the Uchiha clan! I've always believed in helping elders in need as my life principle since childhood! Although I haven't done much, I haven't done many bad things either. It shouldn't be enough to cancel out all my good deeds! Please don't take me to hell... Argh! It hurts!"
Obito grimaced in pain as he aggravated his wounds.
Madara spoke calmly, "You can still feel pain, which means you're still alive. It's a miracle you survived. You weren't crushed to death—it's as if you passed through the rocks."
Obito swallowed hard and asked, "Where did you find me?"
Madara replied, "You fell into the underground tunnel I dug, surrounded by collapsed rocks. Even so, half your body was nearly destroyed. I've bandaged you up."
"Did you save me, old man? Thank you..." Obito expressed his gratitude.
Madara said, "It's too soon for thanks. You will repay this kindness properly. Helping the elderly is your life principle, isn't it?"
Obito paused for a moment. "Yes, I did say that... so what should I do? Serve as your caretaker?"
Madara looked at Obito and replied, "That would be acceptable."
Obito refused, "I'm sorry, but I can't stay here forever. Since I'm still alive, I need to return to Konoha! I'm fighting in a war. I finally activated my Sharingan. Now I can better protect my comrades."
"Better protect your comrades..."
Madara lowered his head and repeated the words with darkened eyes.
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